Glitter in the Air
by Elegant-Mess
Summary: Sarah is getting married in less then a week, and it's not to Jareth. Duh duh duh duuunnnn...


She stood in silence holding the dress before her, reflecting in the full-length mirror. Tears slowly rolled down her face. Karen said it was just cold feet. Sarah wasn't so sure any more, Mike was a great guy, and she loved him… right? They had a comfortable relationship; they were best friends. They did everything together, except sleep together. He had said that he wanted to wait, to do things in the right order, marriage first and all that, and she had easily agreed. They were so comfortable, that there was no need for fireworks or bells when they kissed. However, in less than a week, she was to become Mrs. Michael Bologowski… Sarah Bologowski, What the heck was she doing? She felt like she was half past the point of no return. In a moment of panic she threw the dress on her stepmother's bed, grabbed her purse and with a quick lie about needing to do some things at her apartment, she fled her family's house. She climbed into her jeep and drove to her apartment.

Sarah had done everything expected of her since that night ten years earlier. She grew closer to Toby, babysitting whenever she was asked. She stopped fighting with Karen, and put away her toys and her costumes. Her grades improved once she found her academic subjects more important than Drama Club. She had graduated with honors, and gone on to get a degree in teaching. She enjoyed educating her kindergarteners. She had met Mike in her last of college. They were friends for a few years before they starting dating and they dated for almost five years before he asked her to marry him. He had taken her to the Botanical Gardens, and he sat across from her clutching her hands as she held her coffee, and he called her sugar. She said yes… It was flat, it was normal. He was great, but there was something missing.

She walked in to her silent apartment; it was dark as she dropped her keys on the table beside the door. She didn't even bother to turn on the lights as she laid her purse on the kitchen table, walked into her room, and crawled into bed. Alone, she finally let the sobs out. Her dad had pulled her aside that morning just to let her know, no matter how much they had spent, or what Karen might say, or how Mike might feel, if she wasn't sure, it was okay to call it off. She had told him that she couldn't call it off, and he asked her the same questions yet again. 'Have you ever felt this way? Is it love? Can you close your eyes and trust it, just trust it?'

She'd responded with the same answer as always, 'He's a great guy, and he cares for me.'  
He sighed heavily. 'That's not love Sarah! He should be the thunder before the lightening, the sun before the burn,' he implored her. She knew that he was just looking out for his baby girl. But she couldn't call it off. No matter how hollow she felt, she just couldn't hurt Mike like that. The world seemed to be grinding on, dragging her forward with it. Fearing that she would forever be alone in a crowd, she cried herself into a fitful sleep.

A few hours later, she awoke gasping and fighting the covers that tangled around her body. Looking at the clock, she realized it was just after midnight, a new day. A new day that was exactly thirteen years from the last time, she had felt like she was in control of her life. It was the last night she truly fought. She had fought because of her own selfish whims and immature concepts of fairness. She had won but she had also lost. She saw the pain and anguish on his face as she had said those final words. They had to be said, she had to save her brother, but at what cost? As she jumped from the stairs his world had broken apart around her, and she could recall the strain in his features as he had again, played out his role as villain in their final moments. She had returned, checked on Toby, had her little victory party, and gone to sleep that night with the misbelief that she had conquered a great foe. After the troubling dreams she had that night, and every night hence, she slowly stopped fighting back. The look on his face haunted her. She became a people pleaser, a peacemaker, always doing what she was told and going out of her way to keep from hurting anyone else. She never wanted to hurt another person the way she had unintentionally hurt him.

She climbed out of bed, went to the bathroom, and washed her face. Most of her things were packed up to be moved into Mike's house next week. She shook her head; there was someone she could talk to. She sat down in front of childhood vanity. Mike had asked her to get rid of it many times; he said something about it made him uneasy. She kept it, despite the arguments it had caused. It was the only thing she couldn't give up, her last link to something truly magical. "Hoggle?" she called softly.

It had been a long time since they had spoken. The last time had ended poorly; he too thought that she was marrying Mike for the wrong reasons, though he refused to tell her what his reasons were.

"Hoggle?" she called again. "I need you…," she pleaded.

"Sarah, did ya call me?" Hoggle pulled himself up on the reflection of her bed.

"Yeah, sorry if I woke you, I spoke with my dad again this morning…"

"He's a good man, yer Dad. I likes the way he thinks." Hoggle grunted.

"Yeah, about that, will you please tell me why you don't think I should marry Mike? I know you said you didn't think I'd like the reasons but I really need to know. I'm having serious doubts and I need to know if I'm doing the right thing."

"Sarah, I don't…"

"Please, Hoggle, I'm losing it, here. Mike is everything I'm supposed to want in a guy and yet there's something missing. Please tell me what I'm missing… please…" The tears began again as she hunched over the table.

"Oh Sarah, I can't… now don't cry… I can't tells ya, it ain't mine to say… Sarah…" flustered and more than a little unnerved, Hoggle did he best to reassure her. He waited till she had calmed some. "Alright I can't promise ya nothing but I can tells you these two things; One, I think the thing missin' is magic, and Two, You needs to talk to the rat."

Sarah sat up abruptly; they never spoke of him. It was like rule numero uno for them, laid down the day after her visit to the Labyrinth. She had asked how the King was fairing after his defeat, Hoggle had paled, said he had to go, and she wasn't able to contact him for almost a week. When he did finally did answer her summons, he promptly told her never to bring up 'His Majesty' again, for her safety's sake and his as well. Concerned for Hoggle's welfare she had done as he had requested. She took a deep breath, "What did you say?"

"Tween you'n Mike I think the thing's missin; is magic, ya know, passion, there ain't no spark."

"Hoggle, you know that's not what I meant. Why do you think that I need to speak with Ja…?"

"Don't say his name!" Hoggle groaned. "Look, I shouldn't told ya his name, and I'm in enough trouble already. I can't say no more. If'n you wants answers about that ya need to call on him, I thinks the two of you needs to have a long talk, but wait till I'm long gone. Please Sarah?"

"Alright, thank you Hoggle." They talked for a few more minutes before she finally began to get sleepy. Before he left, he made her promise to talk with The Goblin King the next day. She agreed she would, after a good night's sleep and some time to consider what she would say to him. When she finally lay down for the night, she couldn't stop thinking about him, the Goblin King. She was careful in her conscious thoughts to never refer to him by name, as though speaking his name may somehow summon him. It was a testament to how worked up she was that she nearly called him by name earlier.

So it was with a certain blonde fae King on her thoughts that she fell asleep and began to have very different dreams than usual, dreams of a far more risqué nature.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

She rolled over, pushed her long dark hair out of the way, and glared her vibrant green eyes full of malice, at the blaring alarm clock. Karen and a few of her bridesmaids were due over in less than an hour. She had taken the week off to finish off preparations for the wedding. Today they were going to finish off the corsages, boutonnieres, and other flower arrangements. Trying to shake off the lingering effects of her dreams, she quickly showered, dressed, and set up the coffee pot. After pulling out the fruit tray and the bagel pack she had gotten from the bakery down the street, she was ready in record time. She poured herself a cup of coffee, grabbed a bagel, she sat in her favorite chair in the living room, and waited, allowing her mind to wonder.

_She was standing alone in the middle of a beautiful meadow of wildflowers, admiring the tranquility of it. Closing her eyes, she allowed the familiar fragrance of the flowers to wrap around her like a blanket, the soft sounds of birds, and of a nearby babbling creek, and the warmth of the late spring sunshine to seep into her anxious heart, soothing her. From somewhere far away she heard the soft melodious strain of a song half remembered. A soft gasp fell from her lips as strong arms wrapped themselves around her waist, gently pulling her back against a tall, lean, very male body. She did not fight or struggle; this was the man she'd always known would come to her, the man of her dreams, her love, her soulmate_.

A rapid knocking startled her from her daydreams; she nearly dropped coffee in her surprise. She placed the half-empty cup of cold coffee in the kitchen and hurried answer the door. In quick succession Karen, Brittany, Madison, and Tina all arrived. Soon the coffee and food were consumed and all the fake flowers, ribbons, glitter, glue guns, and other accoutrements for decorating were pulled out and all the ladies set to work. Karen turned out to be a great help in the process, she had a natural flare for decorating. She chatted amiably with all of the ladies and none of them seemed to notice Sarah becoming more and more withdrawn. In the process of creating the decorations, Sarah had been dubbed the glitter girl. As each arrangement was finished, Madison, Brittany and Tina were taking them over to Sarah who placed them in a large box, used some spray adhesive, and lightly sprinkled the flowers with glitter. Karen had over-prepared in her typical manner and had bought far too much glitter in many different colors. As Sarah worked on the flowers, an odd little thought began to play in her mind.

Glitter, so much glitter, it reminded her of…

As Brittany brought over the next corsage to be glitterized, Sarah got a mischievous little glint in her eyes. She took a pinch of silver glitter and sprinkled it in Brittany's dark hair as she walked away. She did the same to Madison and Tina as they in turn brought their item to be glitterized. Into Madison's blonde hair went some blue, and into Tina's brown went some gold. Her little game was discovered through, as Madison turned back to say something to Sarah and saw the gold in Tina's hair. As Madison laughed, Tina saw the silver in Brittany's hair and pointed it out with a surprised laugh. As they giggled, they turned on Sarah to get her back, Sarah but she had already thrown a fist full of glitter in the air covering all of them. They all began laughing and throwing glitter everywhere as Karen yelled from her hiding spot under the table about them ruining the flowers. For quite some time this went on, with the girls all grabbing a bucket, hiding behind furniture, and lobbing fistfuls at each other. After a while, Madison stoically stood, taking the random hits of glitter, walked over to the buckets, grabbed the silver, and upended it over Sarah's head with a maniacal laugh. Madison's coup de grace effectively ended the Great Glitter War of '99.

Finally, the girls all fell to the floor laughing uncontrollably. Karen chose to leave in a huff, complaining all the while about Sarah's immaturity and about how much work they had ruined. The girls had stayed for a while chatting with Sarah, and catching up with each other. After a while, though the glitter in their hair and on their skin grew to be an irritant. So with any work they could have done covered in glitter, Sarah's bridesmaids all opted to go home and shower away the itchy glitter.

As Sarah sat on her glitter-covered carpet, her thoughts drifted back to her conversation with Hoggle. She was going to call on the King later that evening. There were so many what-if's in her mind. What if he didn't even respond to her call? What if he was angry about what happened in The Escher Room? What if seeing him brought to life her long suppressed infatuation? What if she couldn't hide her feelings? What if she did tell him how she felt, and the biggest scariest what if, what if he didn't return her feelings? But… what if, whispered a soft voice in the back of her mind, he does return your feelings?

Before she could speak to him though, she had a mess to clean up and an early dinner with her fiancé. Three hours, two vacuum bags, half a bottle of shampoo, and a full bottle of Drano down her shower drain later, her apartment finally felt mostly clean. She doubted the glitter could be fully removed from the carpet; she'd likely be still vacuuming it up for months to come. Or not actually, she was getting married Saturday, and moving out on Monday. 'Hmm…' she thought, 'That's not something that should be so easily forgettable. Wonder what Freud's opinion on that would be?'

With a deep breath, she pushed all her other thoughts aside, Mike would be here any minute to pick her up. In the past 24 hours, she found herself questioning everything. She loved Mike, but was it the right kind of love to try and build a marriage on? There was no spark, no chemistry between them. She didn't mind and he didn't seem to either but still if there nothing but friendship between them was it enough? Was there someone out there who could provide that spark that could reignite that fire in her? Was she really just a cold frigid woman like one of her old high school ex-boyfriends had said? If she left Mike, would she be doomed to live alone, waiting for something that might never happen? 'Could the Goblin King be the one she was waiting for?' that traitorous little voice was forcing her to question everything again.

As the clock chimed four, a soft knock startled Sarah from her ruminations. She opened the door to revel her fiancé. He was slightly pudgy and only a few in inches shorter than her but all the product in his light brown hair caused it to stand up in its faux messy perfection, lending him a few more inches. He was, as always, impeccably dressed. That evening he wore a light gray V-neck sweater vest over a white dress shirt, and crisply pressed black slacks. He embraced her gently and kissed her cheek as always, but something seemed off. He gave her his usual smile, though it didn't seem to reach his soft brown eyes. He seemed uncomfortable, like he was excited but scared, worried, irritated, and a whole host of other things all at once. Sarah took him by the hand to get his attention. He seemed startled by her action. "Mike, what's wrong?" she asked gently.

"Sarah, would you mind if we just stayed here this evening, and ordered delivery?" he pleaded.

"Sure that's fine. Come on, why don't you sit here in the couch, I'll call and order our usual from Toni's." He nodded, solemnly, and sat without another word. Sarah walked into the kitchen, pulled out the menu, grabbed the cordless, and ordered quickly from the local sub and pizza joint. Mike's odd behavior had set off all her internal alarms and she was having a hard time regaining control of her racing thoughts. With a heavy sigh, she shook off her confusion and quietly walked in to see him perched on the edge of her couch as if any sudden movement might cause him to flee.

"Mike, what's wrong? You look like someone just told you that the world's going to end tomorrow." She sat beside him and took his hand gently.

Mike's normal sarcasm and witticisms had fled as he tried several times to speak and failed.

"Ok, you're really starting to worry me. What's going on Mike, you don't have to hold back, just tell me, I can handle it."

Mike gave a weak little laugh, and took a deep breath, looking for all the world like he was about to jump off a cliff. "I went out to the bar with the guys last night, you know to have one last big hurrah before the wedding…" he faltered and Sarah nodded encouragingly. " Umm, Chad went with us… "

Sarah began to giggle, "Oh Mike, is all this because Chad kissed you?"

"Well kind of…"

"Mike, I love Chad, but he's the biggest slag I know. He's kissed me too, I just didn't tell you because it's completely meaningless. He's done it with practically everything on two legs and sometimes I wonder about four legged…"

"No Sarah, it's more than that." He stood and began to pace, unable to make eye contact with her. "It's not just that he kissed me, it's how it made me feel. You and I have kissed plenty of times, but there was never that thing that made my heart race. When I kissed him, there were fireworks, bells, the freaking Hallelujah Chorus."

Sarah stood, "Ok, so where does that lea… Wait, I thought you said he kissed you, you just said that you kissed him…"

"Uh, well he kissed me the first time. After that…"

"Mike! The first time? How many times did you two ki…" A sudden realization popped into her mind. "You two did more than kiss didn't you?" Mike turned bright red and looked away refusing to make eye contact. Sarah sat heavily on the edge of the couch. "So, what does all this mean for us?" she asked softly.

He turned to look at her, his face pale, and upon seeing the distress on her face, knelt in front of her. "I don't know sweetie, I know that it wouldn't be fair to you if we got married. I know now why there was never any spark for me. Was there for you?" he asked softly.

She shook her head, "No, not really, but you know my history with guys. I've never really felt anything with any of them. I just figured whatever was broken in me meant there would never be that fire with anyone. I was just happy that we just cared so much about each other. I figured that eventually we might get that spark." With a little laugh, she smiled. "I guess I know now why there wasn't ever that spark. Are you happy?" He nodded. "Right now, that's all that really matters. My Dad was right though. The first time he met you he told me he thought you were gay. Hey, whatever you choose to do, we're best friends, and I love you, you know that right?"

"Oh Sarah, I'm so sorry."

"Mike, don't worry about it please, really. I think somewhere deep down I already knew it too." With a wink she said, "It might have been the show tunes and the Barbra Streisand movies." She gasped softly, "Oh crap, Karen's going to kill us."

"I don't suppose you'd tell her for me, would you?" he asked with a look of mock fear on his face.

"No way buddy, we got into this mess together. You're going to come with me and we're going to face her together." There was a knock on the door. "After we eat though, one last meal before the gallows right?" she laughed.

Mike paid for the food and they sat together on her glittery carpet as they ate. He looked thoughtfully at Sarah as she picked at her salad. He figured she was stewing again, about how she thought she was broken somehow. She had never felt truly attracted to any guy, she'd even tried kissing a few girls to see if that was it, but there was never a feeling of chemistry with any of them. It had been a frequent topic of conversation when they had been friends before they had begun dating. She seemed to have too high of a standard for guys. He nudged her with an elbow. "I wonder what your basis for comparison is."

She paled and dropped her fork. "What?" she asked in a choked whisper.  
Seeing her distress, he rushed to explain, "I was just thinking about how no guy ever seemed to meet your requirements. So I was wondering what your…"

"Please, don't say it again." She said quickly.

"Sorry, hey, have you ever felt a spark with someone?" She got a far off look in her eyes. "Uh huh, that's what I thought. He was unattainable somehow right? Maybe he was married, lived too far away, was too old for you, or something like that?"

"Something like that," she agreed. "There was this one guy, when I was fifteen. He was tall, blonde, sarcastic, challenging, and sexy as hell, and his accent, his voice I mean, wow. We bantered back and forth, we danced and he sang to me…," she whispered. He could see the longing in her eyes as she remembered that night so long ago. "But in the end, he was older and offered me something I wasn't old enough to accept. I can see now as an adult how much my denial hurt him but there's really just no going back. It would be a long distance relationship at best and I think our cultures are just too different…" she trailed off.

"Oh girl, you've got it bad. No wonder no one ever measured up. You've been pining after this guy for thirteen years? Do you have his number or some way to contact him, like tonight?" She nodded. "Well, okay" he said with a nod. He balled up his trash and stood up. "So here's how I see it, you need to call him and get this straightened out, either he still likes you and you guys hook up, or he doesn't and maybe then you can get over him and move on." He took Sarah by the hands and pulled her up. "Okay, so I'm going to go brave the wrath of Karen and you're going to call tall, blonde, and sexy. If everything goes well, you call me in the morning, if it doesn't, call me tonight, I'll bring over the Ben and Jerry's, and we'll talk."

"Mike, you don't have to face Karen alone, I'll go with you. I can always call him another time."

"No Sarah, you call him tonight. I know you, if you don't do it tonight, you'll always be trying find some excuse and it'll never happen. I think everything will be fine. Personally I'm hoping that I won't hear from you till tomorrow." Mike kissed her on the cheek and gave her an encouraging hug. "Now you call him after I leave ok? Don't wait or you'll end up talking yourself out of it."

Fifteen minutes later she was still sitting, staring at her vanity mirror, trying to summon the courage to call him. The what-if's were taunting her. Finally, with a deep breathe she looked fear in the face, and said to herself, I just don't care. So, carefully choosing her right words, she whispered, "I wish the Goblin King would come here so we can talk… right now." She stood expecting thunder and lightning, but there was nothing. She turned slowly, the lights still worked; there were no odd noises or goblins hiding in corners. She couldn't believe that she was basically inviting a stranger to come inside her apartment. She really knew so little about him. She shook her head it didn't matter; this was about maybe getting some answers. He still hadn't responded; perhaps he hadn't heard her… with a little more strength in her voice she said, "I wish the Goblin King would come here so we can talk… right now." Several minutes later… still nothing. Nearly yelling, "I Wish The Goblin King Would Come Here So We Can Talk… RIGHT NOW!"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Oh, Precious, I heard you the first time…" He whispered, gazing into the crystal that currently showed her pacing in her room. With a heavy sigh, he leaned back, draped indolently over his throne; he continued to watch as she paced around her room like a caged wolf.

Thirteen long years had passed, the torrent of strong feelings that she had stirred in him had not diminished in the slightest. At first, he had watched her through the crystal with a near obsession but as the months and years had drawn on, he had taken to watching her less and less. The pain of watching her, the one person he wanted and could not have, grew every moment that he watched her. He had nearly screamed in physical pain when she told the ponce that she would marry him. There was no love between them, he could tell.

Though she knew not, they were connected, after all, she had eaten fae food given to her by him (through the dwarf), and he had sung to her. Two points of connection, the third, her acceptance of his proposal, would have given them a complete bond, they would have been joined mind, body, and soul.

As it was, he could feel what she felt; joys, sorrows, anger, and even the same loneliness, that permeated his own soul. Distance separating them mattered not. If she was sad, if she was irritated, if she was elated, he could sense it. The bond was incomplete however, it was merely one-sided, he could sense her feelings, but she could not sense his.

He knew that when she left she was too young, that her focus had been solely on saving her brother. Of course, what she didn't know was that she had actually won him back when she breached the castle's front doors. The boy was only still there because he had hoped she would listen to his plea if she thought she still had more to do. When she jumped from the stairs in the Escher Room, she had defeated him in a way that no other runner ever had. It was his own fault; after all, he had given her 'certain powers'. He had tried to divert her, to charm her, but she would not be swayed. She continued with her well-rehearsed words, only stopping when she briefly forgot her final line. She had thrown him when she said those words. Those six words left him unable to contact her, unable to comfort her when she felt alone, unable to reach out to her in any way.

He had watched as she struggled through high school and college, had watched her try find love and fail again and again. He stopped watching when she decided to marry Mike though. He only watched today because her friend Hogwarts had come by and told him that it was important that he watch today. He had nearly displaced his dignity with a loud shout of triumph when she and the ponce had chosen not to marry. He also gave a hearty laugh when the ponce had inadvertently used his own words and Sarah had become so visibly flustered.

As he watched, she continued to pace and fidget, shoving her hands roughly through her hair at her scalp, making it a terrible mess. Finally, she stood, walked into her living room, grabbed the hourglass on the table, brought it to her room, and turned it over right in front of her vanity mirror. "Alright Goblin King, you have one hour, if you don't show I promise you I will never contact you again, because I won't spend my whole life waiting on your answer to prove I'm not alone." she demanded.

'That impudent little chit!' he thought. 'How dare she give ultimatums to a King? Ridiculous!' Had he been inclined to go before, he felt it well within his prerogative, to wait now.

They were evenly matched in their stubborn pride. She refused to try to call him again, and he was determined to wait till the last possible moment to go to her. She began to pace again, grumbling about irritating glittery fae kings, despairing over her decision to try to contact him, worrying about how he would respond to her, hating herself for staring at the mirror, and most of all, fearing that he had no feelings for her at all.

He sat fuming on his throne, one leg thrown over the arm, watching her in the crystal, his riding crop in one hand tapping angrily off his boot.

Fifty-four minutes and thirty-seven seconds later, sitting at the vanity, staring at the last grains of sand in the hourglass, Sarah truly felt she was at her breaking point. Rather than watch the last few gains fall, proclaiming her defeat, she dropped her head to her folded arms and began to cry softly. 'I should have known he wouldn't come,' she thought. Through her tears she whispered, "Goblin King… I need you." With this admission, she allowed the damn to break. Sobs freely wracking her slight frame she did not notice the change in the room, the lights that went out, the wind that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere all at once, and the fact that she was no longer alone. As the grief began to subside, she became aware of a gloved hand smoothing her hair back from her wet face. "What the…?" she gasped in surprise as she stood and stumbled away from him.

He stood there, imperious as always; black knee-high boots, dove gray leather skin tight pants, white loose shirt peeking out of an asymmetrical black leather coat, his hair still as wild as ever, upswept eyebrow raised, and that same arrogant haughty smirk gracing his cruel but perfect lips. "Hello Sarah," his voice was everything she remembered and more, silky, cultured, and laced with unadulterated wickedness.

"What… what are… what are you doing here?" she stammered. He could sense her fear, her unease. Her clothing was disheveled, her face blotchy from crying, and her hair tangled from the abuse it had suffered during her wait. While she had summoned him, the biggest part of her had believed that he would never actually show.

"I'm here because you summoned me, nothing more, nothing less. Now I believe your exact words were… I wish the Goblin King would come here so we can talk… right now. So Sarah… talk!" he demanded, knowing full well what her reason for calling was, he could, after all sense her feelings. The girl he had fallen in love with had grown into but a shadow of her former self. She was weakness, fear, and doubt.

"Well, I um… I guess I uh, you see…" She struggled to simply spit out her reason for calling him and it bothered him. Where was her fire, where was the tenacious swot that had captured his capricious attention? He watched her as she fought an internal battle. Truly, he did not need to be able to sense her feelings to know how she fought, her feelings played out plainly on her face.

"Sarah," he said sharply. "Do get on with it, I haven't got all day." Her head snapped up at his demanding tone. He could feel a bit of her agitation. 'Ah there it is!' he thought. His head tilted a bit to the side and his eyes narrowed like a predatory animal that had just scented weakness in its prey. "Either speak your mind or I shall leave, I am a King after all, and I have better things to do than stand around waiting for mealy mouthed little girls to decide what to say."

"What better things, like bogging goblins and kicking chickens?" she muttered under her breath as she looked away.

He moved so fast she did not see him until he stood inches from her; he reached out with one gloved hand and lifted her chin. Glaring down into her eyes he growled, "I am a King, my Kingdom may be the Goblin Kingdom but make no mistake, you saw merely what was necessary to accomplish your task. I assure you there is far more to my Kingdom than just goblins, chickens and the Labyrinth. Were you my subject I would have you whipped for speaking with such insolence to me." His words had their desired effect, she bristled, and he could sense more of her ire return. He pressed in further holding her around the waist with his other hand, "But perhaps you would enjoy such treatment."

She gasped and tried to escape his hold as she blustered. "How dare you! I can't believe you would say such a thing! I would never… That's terrible… Why would you…?" she hissed.

"I think the lady doth protest too much," He stepped closer bringing her body flush with his own; she pushed and fought against him. His grin seemed feral and predatory. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "If you want me to release you precious, I would suggest that you stop moving in such an arousing manner and simply ask politely."

She stilled immediately and hissed at him. "Don't touch me, Goblin King."

He released her and took a single step back, careful to stay as close as he could without actually touching her, "I'm nothing if not accommodating, precious, even if that was hardly polite, and you didn't even say please." He had a mock hurt look on his face and gave a slight bow. "Now back to my original query, why have you called me here?"

She turned away from him, twisting her hands together as she tried to figure out how to word her feelings, and began to pace again. "Ok, well, you see Goblin King, I've been struggling with something for a long time and after several different conversations with three very different people, I've come to the conclusion that it was you I should have spoken to first." As she spoke, her voice dropped in volume slowly and in the end, she was blushing furiously and whispering. "I don't know how to explain why exactly I called you; I just needed to see you again." She huffed and shrugged her shoulders as she stared forlornly at the ground. "But then again, I don't know why I called you, it's not like you care about me or anything."

Again, he moved without sound or warning, crossing the room to stand in front of her. "Ah, but precious, you should not presume to know how I feel. Perhaps I'm here for revenge, or am I here because your torment entertains me, or maybe I'm just here because to have a little fun at your expense. I could be here for all those reasons or none of them, but to imply that I do not care, that I am apathetic or indifferent towards you, that could not be farther from the truth. Of course I care, Sarah."

She blanched, "You, you, you, care?" she stuttered in anger. "But… but, you stole Toby, dropped me in an oubliette, set the cleaners on me, gave a roofie peach, set the entire goblin army on me, and you never even tried to contact me after I left!" She nearly screamed.

He stepped away from her to pace in the narrow space between the vanity and her bed. His face was cold and impassive as he ticked off her complaints, "Hmm, while I still don't care for you tone, I shall attempt to address your allegations. One, I stole Toby, no actually you wished him away. And before you protest, remember in my Kingdom, all words have power; one should never say things they don't mean. Two, I dropped you down an oubliette, false, the helping hands gave you a choice, and you choose down, a rather stupid choice I think. Three, four and five, the cleaners, the peach and the goblin army, the Labyrinth is supposed to be difficult, and I am supposed to be the adversary. Why would I make it easy for anyone? I allowed the wall to fail, giving you and Hogsmeade an escape from the cleaners. As for the peach and subsequent dream, well you can't deny that it was an enjoyable diversion." He leered at her. "And the Goblin Army was never a threat to you; after all, I sent the rock caller and the fox-terrier knight to be your guardians, did I not? You were never truly in any danger." He stopped pacing and leaned against the wall. She bristled as she struggled through her anger to come up with a retort. Though his face was an impassive mask again, he was enjoying the situation immensely. Now that she was acting more like the girl he knew, their tete-a-tete had become far more pleasurable.

She stomped over to him and began poking him in the chest. "Never in any danger? Never in any danger, you lying, pompous, glittery, fae jerk! There were at least a half dozen times I could have died in your Labyrinth! Of course I was in danger!" She screamed.

As per her earlier request, he did not touch her, but towered over her menacingly. Though she had him backed against the wall, suddenly she felt surrounded. His lips curled back and he growled through his pointed teeth, "I do not lie; as a fae I cannot lie, and especially would not ever lie to you. You were never really in any danger. I had a vested interest in securing your continued well-being. You never received more than that tiny bite from the fairy at the beginning of your quest, and trust me that fairy has been dealt with accordingly." He took a deep breath; this was escalating rapidly to a level where he may be unable to contain himself. One gloved hand pinched the bridge of his nose as he willed away the oncoming migraine.

"While I am relieved to see you return to your former outspoken self, I weary of this unnecessary contention. You, Sarah Williams, are a conundrum." His hands dropped to his side in exasperation. "You fight with me but you need me, you hate me but you don't. I am unsure of what exactly you want from me here. You say that you are uncertain why you called me but I think that you are lying to yourself." He reached for her, his gloved hand caressing the air millimeters away from her cheek. She could feel the heat from his hand through the leather gloves and the distance separating them. His voice dropped to a low rumbling purr. "I think you desire me and you are simply afraid to admit it, even to yourself. Why won't you admit the truth?"

She backed away rapidly, tears in her eyes, certain he was mocking her. "I should never have called you," her voice was tight with restrained tears. "Fine, you want the truth, the reason I called you? You got it. I have never been able to feel anything for any guy I've ever dated because they never measured up to you. I'm an absolute mess, you stand there in all your sensual glory, and I'm just a pathetic mortal who could never be enough to gain your favor. Do I desire you? Of course I do! What straight woman wouldn't, but I know that you hate me and just came here to mock my pain. I'm wrung out, all my feelings have been laid bare before you, and I'm tired of fighting with you. I can't deal with your derision anymore; you can just go hell Goblin King."

His mouth curled into a smirk and a small chuckle began. Soon the laughter burst forth unchecked as he threw his head back in abandon, thoroughly indulging the mirth. 'He's laughing at me!' she thought. The idea that she had finally bared herself heart and soul to him and he was laughing was beyond what she could tolerate. She launched herself at him, slapping, and striking him on the chest with her fists.

His laughter abruptly stopped. Between one heartbeat and the next he caught her wrists in one hand, raised them above her head, and turned them both so she was pinned by his body to the wall behind her. "I stopped touching you as per your request, but I will not tolerate assault on my person," he growled. She glared up at him, but before she could scream at him, he covered her mouth with his other hand. "You have completely misread this situation, precious. I laugh because you tell me to go to hell, but that is precisely where I've been for the last thirteen years. Your last accusation, that I had not tried to contact you, was only partially incorrect. Those last six words that you spoke, barred me from attempting to contact you. Words have power. You summoned me here tonight and I was more than glad to come, before you gave me an ultimatum. I resisted your call till the last possible moment because I do not like being dictated to."

His eyes softened, though he did not release her. "Sarah, I've been waiting for you to summon me for thirteen long years… 'What no one knew is that King of the Goblins had fallen in love with the girl…' Sarah… I…" She relaxed in his grip. This magical immortal man stood before her laid bare, his soul, his heart, vulnerable and open. He released her and stepped back as he whispered, "Those words I spoke in the broken remains of my Escher Room… I meant every single one… Fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave…"

There was no guile in him, he looked as broken as he had the last time he spoke those words. She considered carefully her next words. Tears rolled down her cheeks, her voice was thick with emotion as she whispered, "I don't want to fear you," He fell to his knees at her feet certain she was rejecting him again. "I don't always do as I'm told, and I certainly don't want a slave." She took a deep steadying breath. "As for that other part," His head dropped, waiting for the final blow. She knelt in front of him and tenderly placed her hands on either side of his face. He had never been touched so gently he could cry. He lifted his eyes to meet her teary gaze. She knew her next words could mend or tear. She took a breath before the phrase, and finally whispered, "I do love you." His head raised, hope bright in his mismatched gaze, "Heaven help us, because we're as likely to kill each other as live happily ever after. But that's what I want. Other girls may want their Prince Charmings but I have only ever desired the heart of a King." She leaned in kissed him tentatively, but pulled back abruptly as she felt something akin to a static shock the moment their lips touched, and her hands had begun to tingle as well. "What was that?" She stood quickly, a confused look on her face, and rubbed her hands on her jeans as she walked across the room. She stood by the far wall, trying to understand what was happening.

He stood and slowly stalked towards her, a wicked smile playing at the corner of his mouth. He bared his sharp teeth and staring at her, lifted one black gloved hand to his mouth bit the tip of the middle finger and pulled the glove off, dropping it on the floor. Sarah found herself out of breath; his simple act of removing his gloves was more sensual than anything she'd ever seen. As he removed the other glove the same way, she couldn't help but stare at his hands. Like a pianist's hands, his fingers were long and tapered. While she had been busy staring at his hands, he had crossed the room and now was directly in front of her, with the bed on one side, and her dresser on the other she was nearly trapped.

Slowly, he reached for her, as his bare hand came into contact with her cheek the feeling like static shock returned, she gasped and flinched slightly. "That Sarah, is magic…" he whispered. He smirked at her reaction but did not pull away; rather he leaned in and carefully, tenderly kissed her. Now she knew what had been missing all along, none of her other kisses had included him. He was the missing part of her, the spark. She reached up slowly between them to place her hands on the back of his neck; she felt his breath stutter slightly at the contact. The knowledge that he was as affected as she was thrilled her. She rose on her toes and pressed in closer, pulling on him, drawing him to her, deepening the kiss. What had started as a feeling of static had transformed into a feeling of heat, of a low vibrating hum wherever their bare skin met. Such a chaste kiss and yet she felt emotions and feelings coursing through her that she had never experienced before.

He slowly ended the kiss, pulling back only to rest his forehead on hers as they both struggled to catch their breath. She giggled. His voice was low and husky, "Sarah love, that is not a sound any man desires to hear after one of the most moving kisses he has ever had."

She grinned at him, "I move the stars for no one," His winged eyebrow shot up and he tilted his head slightly to the side. "You sang that to me in the Escher room, but I think that kiss shook the heavens a bit," she whispered as she blushed furiously.

There was a possessive glint in his eyes as he responded, "Sarah for you I would lasso the moon and the stars and pulled that rope tight. I would give you all that and more." He kissed her again, getting lost in the feeling of her lips.

She gasped slightly as she pulled away from him, her eyes bright with emotion. "Jareth, will it ever get better than tonight?"

He grinned at her, "Have you ever wished for an endless night?"

"I like the idea of forever."

"Forever's not long at all."

_fin_ your document here...


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